Sandy Liang Spring 2023
More from WWD
Shoes, hair accessories and jewelry are helping Sandy Liang come into her own. The designer, who has steered her frilly, downtown Bo-Peep look down a sleeker route, is digging into new pockets of creativity.
“I feel like I’m definitely getting older and seeing things through a new lens. We are building out our world a little more. I’ve always had to make compromises in terms of styling and now we have shoes, bags and jewelry and it’s helping me fully understand her [the customer] more so it’s fun to see that this season,” said the designer.
Last week Liang celebrated the launch of her first shoe design — a mary jane that riffs on ballet pointe shoes. While the ballet world (generally against fashion adaptations of what it considers essential athletic equipment) rolled its eyes, Liang said they are selling ahead of expectations.
Her show started out with a greige color scheme of tailored, low-rise skirts, paired with matching bra tops and overcoats that evoked the circa 2001 minimalism that many people crave now — mostly by posting photos of Prada shows past. It seemed inevitable that those images would creep their way into Liang’s creative process.
Over the summer, Liang worked on her first two bridal commissions — designs that were ultimately so successful they made it into her collection. She’s filling a void in that space: Designing anti-establishment, historically referenced dresses at a more affordable price point than the average bridal fare. The two dresses, essentially Rococo revival gowns with cutesy proportions, closed out the sweet show.
“A few friends reached out about bridal dresses, saying, ‘there is just nothing out there I like, I’m not the mermaid lace tulle girl.’ I thought, ‘How much fun to create a dream dress for a princess moment.’ I’m all about princess moments and that’s the ultimate one,” she said.
Launch Gallery: Sandy Liang RTW Spring 2023
